Description: A golden yellowish-orange species with a broad reddish-orange band in front of the eyes. There are three dark brown to black lines on the vertex: one in front of the reddish band, and two others on the crown margin. There is a reddish band at the anterior and of the pronotum, and a broken band near the posterior edge; otherwise, the pronotum is yellowish with some black marks. The scutellum is yellow and orange, with a bold orange triangle in the anterior corners. The wings are yellowish with some dark brown to black and white marks; the venation is dark brown to black. The underside is a pale yellow color. The female pregenital sternite (sternite number 7) has the posterior margin truncate or slightly produced with a small median projection; otherwise, the posterior margin is straight. Male subgenital plates are long and acutely tapered, with long filamentous apexes. Adults are around 5.0-5.5 mm long. (DeLong 1948)

Distribution in North Carolina

County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.

Distribution: Eastern United States

Abundance: Recorded from a couple counties in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain, but likely under collected and more abundant in the right habitat.

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Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Has been found in semi-open woodlands dominated by pine, and mixed hardwood forest; reported from herbaceous vegetation in open woodlands (DeLong 1948)

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Behavior: Can be attracted at night with a light.

Comment: This species is one of several that occur in the eastern United States that are visually very similar in both color and pattern. These three species are: auronitens, limosus, and rotundus. The only way to distinguish between these species is with a view of the underside (easy to distinguish with a female, harder with a male). Female pregential sternites vary among the three species, with auronitens having a noticeably deep notch, limosus having a moderate/shallow notch, and rotundus having no notch at all.